Jiang Shui tilted her head in confusion and asked, “Mother, weren’t you going to the city today? You should wash them clean to sell.”

Shen Qing understood immediately.

The egg market in the town hadn’t opened yet, so she hadn’t planned on selling the eggs stored at home.

One chicken egg was worth one wen, and three duck eggs were worth two wen.

A trip to the city itself cost two wen per person, and coarse salt was about seventy or eighty wen per pound…

Just selling eggs wouldn’t be enough to live well. It was like dreaming for a better life.

To make money, she had to find another way.

As the weather gradually warmed, with the nine ducks and four old hens laying eggs, plus the eggs she had stored up, they could significantly improve their diet.

After buying fever medicine for the family yesterday, they had only 267 yuan left, which was equivalent to over 100 pounds of grain.

Adding the 100 pounds of white flour bought yesterday, while the grain wasn’t abundant and the balance wasn’t much, it meant the family wouldn’t go hungry.

As long as they didn’t starve, the next step was to find ways to earn silver.

She smiled at Jiang Shui, saying, “We’re not selling the eggs. They’ll stay here to help you all build your strength.”

Hearing this, Jiang Shui felt like it was the same as when her mother had said they would eat white-flour dumplings yesterday!

All the eggs—kept for themselves?

She nervously swallowed her saliva but resisted the temptation.

She tried to persuade her, “Mother, eggs are precious. You should sell them.”

This morning, three chicken eggs had earned three wen, and five duck eggs were almost worth four wen.

Six or seven wen could buy two pounds of corn flour, mixed with wild vegetables, which would be enough to feed the whole family for a day. If the eggs weren’t sold, it would be a waste.

Especially since salt would need silver soon, they were out of oil, Xiaohua’s clothes were torn, and Little Grass couldn’t even collect scrap fabric, which was expensive…

Jiang Shui knew her mother likely had some savings, but not much, and everything needed silver.

It was a waste to keep the eggs for food.

Shen Qing hadn’t thought that much.

She replied naturally, “Your bodies are too weak. You need to eat nutritious food to strengthen yourselves.”

“If we’re not back by noon, take three duck eggs from my room and cook a pot of dumpling soup with wild vegetables. Also, take two eggs to your sister-in-law to cook for her. She needs to eat well for breast milk.”

Her heart ached when she looked at her daughter-in-law, who was in her postpartum period.

Jiang Shui froze.

She hadn’t expected that, without her mother-in-law being home, they would still get five eggs for a meal.

Moreover, her mother had even allowed her to go into her room and take eggs herself.

In the past, she would always be asked to prepare food for the younger brothers, and her mother would remind her not to sneak food.

She hurriedly agreed, “Mother, I understand!”

After Xiaohua was born, her sister-in-law ate poorly, and Xiaohua often cried from hunger.

Thankfully, Da Qing’s wife in the village had enough milk and would feed Xiaohua.

When Little Grass(Newly Born baby) was born, it was harder.

Even when others had babies, they didn’t want to give milk to someone else’s child.

If her sister-in-law didn’t have enough milk, Little Grass would have to go hungry.

She understood the pain of hunger.

In the kitchen, Huo Bing also understood.

She lowered her head and didn’t say anything, silently remembering that, no matter the situation, her mother-in-law was always the most important person to her.

Shen Qing wasn’t being too polite with the dumpling distribution.

She couldn’t eat the mushy cornmeal mixture, so she needed to fill herself up.

Only then could she have the strength to go to the city to find opportunities to earn money.

In times of floods and famines, the more silver they had, the better their chances of survival!

Jiang Xiangzhong, who arrived late, was not pleased.

He looked at Huo Bing and said, “Why do I only get two dumplings?”

Last night, his mother had been harsh, not allowing him to eat, and he had dared not complain this morning.

He was initially happy to see dumplings, but when he saw that everyone, including Huo Bing and Jiang Shui, had the same number of dumplings—two—he felt uneasy.

His mother’s bowl was filled with dumplings, and he didn’t dare object.

The third and fourth brothers only had two dumplings, which was acceptable, but normally, the two dumplings in Huo Bing’s and Jiang Shui’s bowls would have been his.

With that, he would have six dumplings, which seemed fair.

But now, both women had only two, just like him!

That soured his mood early in the morning.

Before Huo Bing could speak, Shen Qing quickly asked in an unfriendly tone, “Did you not see that everyone except me got two dumplings? What, do you have a problem with your sister-in-law getting extra dumplings?”

Oh, right, Xiaohua only got one!

Shen Qing picked up a dumpling from her own bowl and placed it into Xiaohua’s bowl.

She turned to Huo Bing, saying, “I told you, Xiaohua is just like you. If she can’t finish, you can have it.”

The eldest daughter-in-law has a little one.

So what if she eats more?

Huo Bing understood this was her mother-in-law supporting her and establishing her position.

She swallowed her initial words and said gratefully, “Thank you, Mother!”

“Mother! You know I didn’t mean it that way,” Jiang Xiangzhong suddenly complained.

How had his mother changed overnight?

Before, she had been furious, even starving his sister-in-law’s two children, but now she was treating them better.

Not only them, but she had been nicer to Jiang Shui, and even to the third and fourth brothers.

The only person she was harsh on now was him!

“Mother, why are you giving them my share?” It used to always be his!

Shen Qing continued eating her steamed dumplings with thin skins and generous fillings.

She occasionally took a sip of the warm water Huo Bing had prepared for her, and without looking up, she said, “Oh? How is that share yours? Why do you think it belongs to you?”

Jiang Xiangzhong was stunned.

Shen Qing added, “You took their share, and instead of being grateful, you think you’re entitled to it! How about this: you go to the academy and ask your teacher and your classmates if anyone thinks they’re entitled to anyone else’s share?”

Jiang Shui quickly glanced at her mother and then lowered her head.

She had a feeling her mother was setting up a trap for her younger brother.

Shen Qing noticed her daughter had figured it out. This child was smart.

Indeed, she was setting a trap for Jiang Xiangzhong.

If he went to ask, the teacher and classmates would surely look down on him, showing he wasn’t just bad but foolish. If that happened, there would be no need to save him.

But if he had any sense of shame and didn’t ask, maybe, just maybe, there was still hope to change him.

Jiang Xiangzhong remained silent.

Home was home, and the outside world was another matter.

You couldn’t go out and spread gossip about your family’s problems.

He quickly finished his portion, then said, “My brush is worn out. The teacher said my writing doesn’t have a sharp point anymore. Mother, remember to buy me a new one when you go to the city.”

Without waiting for a response, he quickly ran off, his expression showing he was in a hurry.

Shen Qing hadn’t planned to buy him a brush. Paper, ink, and brushes were all expensive. Her savings had more important uses, and whether Jiang Xiangzhong would continue studying was still uncertain.

First, he needed to become a person. If his foundation was bad, even if he read more books, it wouldn’t help.

It would only drag the whole family down.

“Mother, Sister-in-law, Little Sister, come see what we caught last night!”